MSM + WMM + Types of LTM Flashcards
Describe the multi-store model of memory de
Atkinson & Shiffrin’s model shows how information flows through the memory system and suggests it’s made up of 3 stores linked by processing. It is a linear model
THE MULTI - STORE MODEL:
SENSORY MEMORY:
1) Environmental stimuli pass into sensory memory
2) Sensory memory has several stores, one for each of the five senses.
3) Iconic memory codes detailed visual information visually - high capacity & short duration of only 1/2 a second
4) Echoic memory codes auditory information acoustically - duration of 2 seconds
5) Information in the SM will only pass into the STM if you pay attention to it
SHORT - TERM MEMORY:
1) STM has a limited capacity of 7+/-2 items, information is coded acoustically and lasts up to 30 seconds, if not rehearsed
2) Maintenance rehearsal keeps information in our STM, as it involves repeating information to ourselves over again
3) Prolonged rehearsal causes information to pass into the long-term memory
LONG - TERM MEMORY:
1) Potentially permanent memory store for information and has been rehearsed over a long period of time. Capacity unlimited, duration can last many years & info in LTM coded semantically
2) If we want to recall information stored in the LTM, first we have to transfer it to the STM by a process called retrieval. According to MSM, no memories can be recalled directly from LTM
Evaluate the multi-store model of memory
1) Glanzer & Cunitz gave participants a list of 20 words - the participants remembered words at the start of the list (primacy effect) and words from the end (recency effect) but struggled recalling words in the middle.
- The primacy effect occurs bc participants tend to rehearse the words in the beginning, so it enters the LTM
- The recency effect occurs because the most recent information is being stored in the STM through maintenance rehearsal
- Middle words are displaced by recency words due to the limited capacity of STM
- This study supports the MSM because it is evidence that the STM and LTM are separate stores
2) HM had hippocampus removed from both sides. He developed anterograde amnesia, as a result of the surgery. So, he could not create new long term memories but he could recall long term memories from before the surgery
- This supports the MSM, as it is evidence that the STM and LTM are separate stores
EVALUATION: this is a case study so it is specific to one individual, so it is difficult to generalise. We also don’t know any previous damage HM has had to his brain which may have been a confounding variable.
3) KF could recall visual information using his STM but struggled with auditory and verbal information, suggesting that the STM is not just a unitary store, as the MSM suggested. Therefore, MSM could be criticised as a too simplistic breakdown of the STM. The WMM could be a better model of memory as it states there are different stores in the STM
4) MSM indicates that the transfer of information to the LTM is strictly dependent on how frequently it is rehearsed. However, Craik & Watkins research opposes this prediction, as they argue the type of rehearsal is more significant. They argue it is elaborative rehearsal that is needed for long term storage
Outline the working memory model
- Working memory model developed by Baddely and Hitch
- describes how STM is organised & how it functions
CENTRAL EXECUTIVE:
- controls the flow of information to & from slave systems
- allocates tasks to slave systems
- makes decisions
- has limited capacity
PHONOLOGICAL LOOP (subdivided into):
- the phonological store - stores the words you hear
- the articulatory control process - keeps the memory trace alive by repeating it on a loop to prevent decay - The capacity of this loop is believed to be 2 seconds worth of what you can say.
VISUO-SPATIAL SKETCHPAD:
-stores visual and spatial information
-information is represented in size, colour and shape
-processes location, speed and distance of stimuli
-Baddeley - limited capacity of 3/4 objects
VSS subdivided into:
-visual cache - stores visual data
-inner scribe - records arrangement of objects in the visual field
EPISODIC BUFFER:
- temporary store that links visual, spatial and verbal information processed by the other stores whilst maintaining a sense of time sequencing
- limited capacity of about 4 chunks
- links working memory to the LTM
Evaluate research on the working memory model
1) Baddeley et al - All participants had visual tracking task.
- participants in Task 1 had to simultaneously describe all the angles in the letter F
- Participants in Task 2 had to simultaneously perform a verbal task
-participants found Task 1 very difficult because both activities were visual tasks so was controlled by the same section of the STM (visuo-spatial sketchpad)
- Whereas task 2 was easier because it involved a verbal and visual task which require different sections of the STM.
This supports WMM because it shows STM is made up of different components with different functions
2) KF could recall visual information using his STM but struggled with auditory and verbal information.
This shows KF’s phonological loop was damaged but his visuo-spatial sketchpad was still intact. This supports WMM as it shows there are different components that make up the STM.
3) EVR (brain tumour removed) performed well on reasoning tests but had poor decision-making skills
- This opposes WMM because if his central executive is damaged he should STRUGGLE making decisions AND have poor reasoning skills.
- This suggests the WMM is still too simple as the central executive could be broken down even further
4) Majority of evidence for WMM is from individuals who have suffered some form of brain damage
- Limitation because these are individual cases that can’t be generalised
- Process of brain damage is traumatic so patient may not be able to remember because of the trauma
- Patients may feel unmotivated so may not want to recall experiences
Describe the types of long term memory
Tulving realised the MSM’s view of the LTM was oversimplistic so he suggested that there are 3 LTM stores
EPISODIC MEMORY (explicit/declarative memory):
-concerned with personal experiences and tends to be time-stamped (e.g first day at school)
This type of memory may recall:
-who, what, when
-context surrounding the event
-associated emotions felt at the time
SEMANTIC MEMORY (explicit/declarative memory):
-knowledge about the world that is shared by everyone
This type of memory may relate to:
-functions of objects
-appropriate behaviour
-social customs
-abstract concepts e.g mathematics or languages
-generally begins as an episodic memory
PROCEDURAL MEMORY (implicit memory):
- concerned with skills and how to do something
- acquired through repetition and practice
- less aware of these memories as they have become automatic - if you think too much about these memories it may prevent you from acting them out
Evaluate the types of long term memory proposed by Endel Tulving
1) Clive Wearing and HM both struggled to recall events from their past showing that their episodic memory store had been damaged. But their semantic and procedural memories were still intact e.g they knew the function of a dog, how to tie their shoelaces and how to walk.
- supports Tulving’s proposition as it shows LTM has different stores + shows MSM over simplistic
- however, this is evidence from case studies of patients that suffered brain damage, so lacks internal validity as we don’t know how well their brains functioned before the damage
2)Tulving et al got their participants to perform various memory tasks whilst their brains were being scanned in a PET scan
-found that episodic (right PFC involved) and semantic (left PFC involved) memories both recalled from prefrontal cortex
This supports the view that there are different LTM stores. Tulving’s research has been confirmed by later research which enhances his findings
3) Research in LTM has real life applications. For example, Belleville et al demonstrated that episodic memories could be improved in older people who had a mild cognitive impairment. The trained participants performed better on a test of episodic memory after training than the control group. This highlights the benefit of being able to distinguish between types of LTM because it enables specific treatments to be developed. High external validity.
4) Cohen & Squire argue episodic and semantic memories are stored together in one LTM store, which they call the declarative memory. Procedural memories are non-declarative. This challenges Tulving’s 3 store theory,as it suggests there’s only 2.
